It’s only 10 days into 2019, and one of YouTube’s favorite families is already in hot water. Known for prank videos and family-friendly vlogs, the ACE Family amassed 15 million followers over the past two years. BuzzFeed News reports its patriarch, Austin McBroom, is now under fire after a video surfaced of him laughingly buying a penis-shaped lollipop for a child.
Footage that’s caused an uproar across social media over the last week shows a young girl walking around what appears to be a novelty shop before reaching for a penis-shaped lollipop. McBroom can be heard laughing behind the camera as she carries it around the store and mimics licking it.
“Don’t show that to anyone, that’s your little secret,” he tells her after purchasing the lollipop. “Guys, I’m in so much trouble,” he says to the camera.
While the family’s vlogs feature their two daughters, the girl in the video’s relationship to the family is unknown. Some have speculated she’s a sister of mom Catherine Paiz.
Unlike McBroom, though, Twitter wasn’t laughing. Disgusted and outraged, many users made comments about calling child services or the police on McBroom. Others said the ACE Family should be flat-out canceled.
what in the R kelly is going on here
— Sade 👸🏾🤎🍂🍁🦃 (@Sadegrant1) January 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/SteamSkullT/status/1082648360094498816
https://twitter.com/marselssa/status/1082406758960771076
https://twitter.com/sssjamiesss/status/1082608659052544001
The ACE Family did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
This isn’t the ACE Family’s first controversy. Back in August, old tweets from McBroom reemerged containing derogatory remarks about women of color. Some called Black women “ratchet” while others disparaged all women.
Fans and critics are frustrated and demanding answers but have only been met with silence from the ACE Family. The family has continued regularly uploading videos without acknowledging the controversy.
Update 3:14pm CT, Jan. 29: In a video uploaded on Monday, the ACE family said it would take a temporary leaev from YouTube. In part, it’s because the family wants a break, and in part, it’s because it’s creating a behind-the-scenes documentary of its life.
“I’m a little nervous because we share a lot of stuff that we never talked about,” McBroom said. “You know our channel is all about positivity and making you guys happy, but at the same time, it’s hard at times to do that when other things happen. We want to show you guys what some of those other things are.”
It’s unknown if “some of those other things” relate to the penis-shaped lollipop controversy.
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H/T BuzzFeed News
